WHUFC.com
England U19s have named Frank Nouble in a provisional squad for the July finals in northern France
30.06.2010
Frank Nouble has been called up by England for a three-day training camp ahead of the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship later this summer.
The 18-year-old striker has travelled to Warwick University in the Midlands with the rest of the 21-man squad, with Noel Blake set to test his players' form and fitness ahead of the finals in northern France between 18 and 30 July. A final squad of 18 will be submitted to UEFA next week, with the players due to meet again at Warwick University for more training before making the trip across the Channel on 15 July. England will be based in Caen and will take on Austria, Netherlands and France in their group-stage fixtures on 18, 21 and 24 July respectively. Nouble played a full part in qualifying, helping the Young Lions see off Ukraine, Republic of Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He finished the club season on loan at Swindon Town, having had a spell at West Bromwich Albion prior to that following a successful start to his career at the Boleyn Ground that saw him make his senior debut and play eight Premier League games.
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Santos in dark over Neymar
Coach Junior unaware of reported Hammers interest
Last updated: 30th June 2010
SSN
Santos coach Dorival Junior remains in the dark over West Ham United's reported interest in teenage sensation Neymar. According to the Brazilian media, West Ham are hoping to land the 18-year-old striker, who has also been linked with Premier League champions Chelsea. Neymar has attracted admiring glances from across Europe, with Real Madrid said to be keen on the Brazilian's talents, while Manchester City are rumoured to have first refusal on the highly-rated forward following Robinho's loan move to Santos last term. But Santos boss Junior insists the South American club have yet to receive an offer for their young talent. "The [Santos] board hasn't said anything to me and I don't know if a deal is being done," said the 48-year-old. "But if it happens, it'll be a big loss."
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Hammers in pole for Piquionne
Hammers hope to land in-demand forward
Last updated: 30th June 2010
SSN
Skysports.com understands West Ham have stepped up their interest in Frederic Piquionne as they look to win the race for the Frenchman's services. Piquionne, who spent last season on loan at Portsmouth, is set to leave Lyon with the French side willing to sell the striker for as little as €1million.
Piquionne impressed at Fratton Park last season with 11 goals despite their relegation from the Premier League and a number of clubs have expressed an interest in bringing him back to England. Fulham have made a couple of offers for Piquionne, while West Ham have also seen a previous bid rejected for the player. West Brom are understood to have tabled a bid for Piquionne earlier this week as they look to bolster their squad ahead of life back in the top flight.
In the wake of West Brom's interest in Piquionne West Ham have now come back in for the 31-year-old. Hammers boss Avram Grant is keen to be reunited with Piquionne having worked with him at Portsmouth last season and he is hoping to win the race for the French international.
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Doni agent plays down talk
Brazilian currently not considering future
Last updated: 30th June 2010
SSN
Doni's agent insists the Roma keeper has heard nothing official from West Ham after reports of a swap with Valon Behrami. Roma are reportedly keen on Switzerland international Behrami and are believed to be mulling over offering Doni as part of the deal. 30-year-old Brazil international Doni has slipped down the Giallorossi's pecking order and could be offloaded by the club this summer. Doni is currently on international duty in South Africa and his agent Ovidio Colucci insists nothing will be decided until after the tournament. Colucci has not been in touch with anyone regarding his client's services and claims that Doni is only focused on success at the World Cup. "I read these rumours in the newspapers but there's nothing concrete," Colucci told calciomercato.it. "We've had no contact with other clubs. I've not heard from Doni in a long time. "He's busy at the moment with the Brazilian national team. He's focused only on the World Cup. "We'll think about his future only after the tournament."
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Sunderland make £7m bid for England flop
Published 23:00 30/06/10 By James Nursey, John Cross and Alan Nixon
The Mirror
Sunderland have tabled a £7million bid for England flop Matthew Upson. West Ham defender Upson, 31, had a torrid time at the World Cup and was savaged for his role in England's 4-1 thrashing by Germany. The centre-back headed England's goal but was deemed to be at fault in Germany's first two efforts in the embarrassing last 16 reverse. Upson only has 12 months left on his contract and will be a free agent next summer, but the offer by Black Cats boss Steve Bruce has been put to Upson who has requested time to consider his future since returning from South Africa. Upson has just one year left on his £50,000-a-week contract at Upton Park and West Ham, whose debt is £90m, want to offload the stopper before he becomes a Bosman
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Fulham target West Ham star as Zamora replacement
Published 23:00 30/06/10 By James Nursey, John Cross and Alan Nixon
The Mirror
Fulham have targeted West Ham striker Carlton Cole as a ready-made replacement for Bobby Zamora. MirrorFootball revealed yesterday that Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has made a £6m move for Zamora as Fulham could lose their star striker AND manager Roy Hodgson this summer. But Fulham have already drawn up a list of transfer targets they are pursuing despite not having a manager as Hodgson prepares to take over at Liverpool. Former West Ham boss Alan Curbishley, who has managed Cole at Charlton and Upton Park, is in the frame for Craven Cottage while Sven Goran Eriksson is also on their shortlist. England international Cole is top of Fulham's transfer hit-list with West Ham ready to sell for around £9m.
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Neymar race hots up as West Ham offer Santos £16m for the 'new Pele'
Daily Mail
By Ashley Gray Last updated at 11:26 AM on 30th June 2010
West Ham have made a £16million offer for Santos wonderkid Neymar. It emerged this week that the Hammers had joined some of Europe's top clubs in tracking the 18-year-old forward and sources in Brazil say they have now submitted a formal bid. Neymar is keen to eventually test himself in Europe but his father - who also acts has his agent - has reservations about making the move too soon in his career. The Hammers' stature could also prove unattractive to a player being scouted by the likes of Real Madrid, but a move to Upton Park has the potential to be a stepping stone to Chelsea. The Blues have tracked Neymar for about two years but have been reluctant to meet the asking price. Santos have consistently insisted they do not want to sell their jewel for at least another year and have previously indicated they will not do a deal for less than his £28.4m release clause. However, if they do accept West Ham's offer - surpassing the club-record £7.5m they paid for Craig Bellamy in 2007 - the same deal would be offered to Manchester City. The Eastlands club secured first refusals on Neymar and 20-year-old team-mate Paulo Henrique Ganso when they allowed Robinho to join Santos on a six-month loan in the winter. Any deal is complicated by Santos owning just 60 per cent of Neymar's rights and needing the agreement of an investment group should they accept anything less than the buyout clause. Neymar has been simultaneously likened to Robinho and the great Pele. His penchant for stepovers is reminiscent of the Manchester City man and he can play wide left or as a centre forward. He was the revelation of Santos's march to the Sao Paulo Championship title this year and also helped them to the Brazilian Cup final by hitting 27 goals in 30 games this year.
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Speculation, Speculation Everywhere, but Is There a Deal in Sight?
West Ham Till I Die
West Ham have been linked with moves for a number of players in recent days. According to club sources, a few days ago, a new deal was due to be closed within the next 14 days. If so, then a player purchase should announced by early next week. But will it be any of the following?:
West Ham are alleged to have bid £16m for Santos' 'new Pele,' 18 year old Neymar. His goal scoring record was certainly impressive last season, when he scored 27 goals in 30 matches. However, the big guns of Europe are well aware of the player's ability and West Ham could find themselves competing with the likes of Real Madrid. One possibility is that we take the player on loan and effectively provide a shop window for a later move to one of the big guns.
It would be a fantastic coup if we bought the player outright, but it is probably unlikely. Another factor is that it has been reported that Neymar's ownership is split between Santos (who owe 60%) and a group of South American businessman. Obviously, the club would need to ensure that any purchase conformed with PL rules on third party influence, but that should not be a massive obstacle if we actually work with PL officialdom this time!.
Elsewhere, it has been reported that Scott Parker will be the subject of a £10m bid from Aston Villa. Well, if the joint Chairmen are true to their word, then this is a non-starter! After all, did they not state Parker was not for sale. Lets see if the club's resolve holds when large transfer fees are offered? Other reports state that Roma want Behrami, but they are not keen to even match the £5m fee that we paid Lazio for the player!! Once again, there is unlikely to be a deal unless Roma match West Ham's valuation, which is likely to be well over £8m.
One mooted compromise is that Roma will offer c.£5m, plus their out of favour Brazilian goal keeper, Doni. Personally, I would not sell Behrami cheaply, nor would I accept just any of Roma's old cast offs. If a deal is to happen, and it involves a player exchange, then we need to play hard ball and demand one of their better players. Is there anyone at Roma that might do a job for us?
Finally, the deal most likely to go through by next week, is probably the signing of ex-Pompey loanee Piquionne. Other clubs, like WBA, are interested in Piquionne, but we should be able to trump them, due to the player's past relationship with Avram Grant. At 31 he is not going to get any better, but he will probably do a job on a short-term basis.
Although we are understandably focused on incoming deals, it will also be interesting to see who Grant will move out? Of particular interest will be the futures of Robert Green and Matt Upson. Will the club decide to bring in a new keeper and move Green on? Will Matt Upson sign the contract extension on the table? Will the World Cup truma have an adverse impact upon the value and demand for the two players?
I certainly anticipate that Carlton Cole will stay at the club next season. He is likely to spearhead the attack in a 4-3-3 formation. Hopefully Zavon Hines will get over his injury problems and really establish himself this season. Similarly, there has been no movement on Diamanti's proposed loan move back to Italy. I would like to see Diamanti given another chance next season. Indeed, he could become a crucial player if we regularly deploy a 4-3-3 or 4-3-1-2 next season. I suppose it all depends if Grant brings in another play-maker like Benayoun from Liverpool or Elano from Man City? However, I would not shed any tears if the likes of Kovac, Gabbidon or Spector were moved on this summer.
SJ. Chandos.
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Sunderland Table £7 Million Bid For West Ham United Defender Matthew Upson - Report
Jul 1, 2010 1:13:00 AM
Goal.com
Sunderland have made a £7million offer to West Ham United for England defender Matthew Upson. The 31-year-old has been heavily criticised for his performance in England's 4-1 Round of 16 defeat against Germany despite scoring the Three Lions only goal that actually counted. The Hammers centre-back was blamed for the Germans first two goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, which put England in a 2-0 hole against their arch-rivals. Upson has just a year left on his current deal with West Ham and will be a free agent next summer. However, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is interested in the defender, who wants to take his time to decide where his future lies after returning from South Africa. The England defender's current deal pays him £50,000-a-week and West Ham, who are currently in £90 million debt, want to sell Upson before he becomes a Bosman.
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